Author: Leigh Sparks
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May 2021 – Journal Articles page updated with two new academic papers in Planning, Theory and Practice, and Sustainability, joining our Ageing & Society paper
March 2021 – Personal Biography redesigned and updated
January 2021 – Updates of Media Commentary and Journal Articles page structures
Top Posts & Pages
- Changing Scotland's Towns
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Brexit isn't Delivering
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- Scottish and Online Retail Sales in Lockdown
- Town Centres in Wales: Bounded Muscularity?
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- Retail Disruptors - the spectacular rise and impact of the hard discounters
- Webinar: "A New Future for Scotland's Town Centres"
- A Lidl Surprise?
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Tag Archives: Retail
Scotland – The Recovery : A Turning or Tipping Point for Towns
Holyrood Events (@HolyroodEvents) have invited me to speak at a conference this week. As can be seen from the poster above, the conference is on “Scotland – The Recovery”. They have asked me to speak on the issue of towns … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Community, community wealth building, Covid19, Government, Healthy Living, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Online Retailing, Places, Recovery, Regeneration, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Covid-19, Holyrood, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Recovery, Retail, Scotland, Social Inequality, Sustainability, Taxation, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, towns
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Locavore’s Bigger Plan
I am not sure when I first became aware of Locavore. It certainly was before they launched their Big Plan in 2015. I had a watching interest in the development of social and more sustainable retail food stores and supermarkets, … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Community Interest Company, Consumer Lifestyle, Crowdfunding, Employment practices, Ethics, Food, Food Retailing, Glasgow, Independents, Local Retailers, Localisation, Locavore, Lockdown, organic, Pandemic, Producers, Retail innovation, Retail leadership, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Scotland Loves Local, Scottish Local Retailer, Scottish Retailing, Social Change, Stirling, Supermarket, Suppliers, Supply Chains, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Uncategorized, Veg Boxes, Wages, Waste, Wholesaling
Tagged Carbon negative, Community Interest Company, Glasgow, Local, Local suppliers, Locavore, organic, Retail, Shops, Social impact, Social Supermarkets, Supply chains, Sustainability, Veg Boxes, Waste Reduction
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Screen Time? Cinemas and Town Centres
One of the things that people have missed though the pandemic is the ability to go to a cinema and see a film. This is a social as well as an artistic activity, whihc raises questions about the types and … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Cinemas, Consumers, Creative Places, High Streets, Regeneration, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Social value, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Assets, Ayr, Catchment, Cinema, Investment, Leisure, Retail, Town Centres
4 Comments
Essential vs Non-Essential Retailing
At the start of lockdown in March, there was a division of retailing into essential and non-essential retailing, with a secondary division into physical and online channels. There was some grumbling from some retailers (Sports Direct, Waterstones) who felt they … Continue reading
Posted in Alcohol, Closure, Essential Retailing, Government, Independents, Lockdown, Non-Essential Retailing, Non-food retailing, Online Retailing, Regulation, Scottish Government, Uncategorized, Wales
Tagged Covid-19, Essential, Independent Retailing, Lockdown, Non-Essential Retailing, Regulation, Retail
5 Comments
Footfall, Curfews and Data
There have been many outrageous statements made over the last months of the pandemic (and in terms of the subject of this post – footfall – in the months and years prior), but recent offerings have really taken the biscuit. … Continue reading
Posted in Consumers, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Media, Places, Public Policy, Retail Policy, Shopping, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Covid-19, Curfew, England, Footfall, High Streets, Hospitality, Journalism, Reporting, Retail, Shoppers
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Lockdown Reading: Welsh Saints on the Mormon Trail
When we were living in the USA in 2000-1 we flew to Jackson Hole in Wyoming via Salt Lake City. That last flight to Jackson Hole was the most unpleasant flight I’ve taken before or since, shaken and bounced over … Continue reading
Posted in Ajax Underground Store, Buildings, Catalogues, Cooperatives, Department Stores, Emigration, Historic Shops, History, Mormons, Places, Retail History, Retailers, Retailing, Uncategorized, USA, Wales, Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution
Tagged Ajax Underground Store, Buildings, Emigrants, History, Mormon Trail, Mormons, Pioneers, Retail, Salt Lake City, Shops, Utah, Wales, Welsh Mormons, Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution
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Confidence, Cash and Friction: Shopping in Scotland
So, shops (well those not cooped up in an indoor shopping centre) in Scotland are now open. The long road back to re-opening the economy has taken another step forward, and one result is a gigantic queue outside a city … Continue reading
Posted in Cash, Click and Collect, Consumer Change, Consumers, Convenience, Covid19, Employees, Friction, High Streets, Home Delivery, Internet shopping, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Queuing, Retail Change, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retailing, Shopping, Shopping Centres, Social Distancing, Town Centres, Uncategorized
Tagged Cash, Consumer Confidence, Convenience, Covid-19, Delivery, Friction, Lockdown, Online, Opening, Queuing, Retail, Scotland, Social Distancing, Staff
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Making Hospital Shops Healthier
Over the last seven or so years, for a variety of personal reasons, I have seen more of the insides of hospitals than I have wanted to. I am not alone in this at my life stage of course. Those … Continue reading
Posted in Alcohol, Behavioural Economics, Consumer Lifestyle, Diet and Health, Food Retailing, Food Standards Scotland, Government, Health, Healthcare Retail Standard, Healthy Living, Hospital, Hospital Shops, Institute for Retail Studies, NHS Health Scotland, Promotion, Public Health lev, Regulation, Research, Retailers, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Tobacco, Uncategorized, University of Stirling, Well being
Tagged Diet and Health, Government Policy, Healthcare Retail Standard, Healthy Eating, Minimum Unit Pricing, Promotions, Public Health, Research, Retail, Scottish Government, Social Engineers, Tobacco Display Ban, University of Stirling
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